How to say goodbye in Chinese
Saying goodbye is one of my least favorite things. Many a times, if I am only going away for a while, I would not bother to say goodbye. That being said, one still should provide a proper goodbye in order to avoid any misunderstanding or doubts. When you are invited to a party and you have to leave early, it is important that you bid farewell to the host properly. If you leave without saying goodbye to the host, the host will have a bad impression of you. In addition, he might not want to consider you as a friend.
There are many ways to say goodbye in Chinese. Chinese word for goodbye does not limit to just saying zai jian. In this post, we will learn at least 18 ways to say goodbye in Chinese.
Different ways to say goodbye in Mandarin Chinese
There are many different ways to say goodbye in Mandarin Chinese. If you are bored with saying 再见 zài jiàn, and want something more colorful and interesting, you have come to the right place.
In today’s post, we will cover 4 main situations where you say goodbye in Mandarin Chinese. All of the situations will be presented in dialogues for learners of Mandarin Chinese to learn how to answer as well as ask questions in Mandarin Chinese. You will learn how to say goodbye, but not just 再见 zài jiàn. You will learn useful Mandarin Chinese phrases to bid farewell for different occasions.
Scenario 1 – Lee invited Peter to his house warming party. It’s already 10pm and everyone is still enjoying the party. Peter decided to leave.
彼得：小李，时间不早了 / 天太晚了，我想我该走了。
（小李，時間不早了 / 天太晚了，我想我該走了.)
Bǐdé: Xiǎo lǐ, shí jiān bù zǎo le/ tiān tài wǎn le, wǒ xiǎng wǒ gāi zǒu le.
Peter: Lee,it’s too late, I have to go.
小李：再坐一会儿吧？(再坐一會兒吧)
Xiǎo lǐ: Zài zuò yī huǐ’er ba?(Zài zuò yī huǐ’er ba)
Lee: why don’t you sit a while longer.
彼得：不了，我明天还得上班呢。(不了，我明天還得上班。)
bǐdé: Bù liǎo, wǒ míng tiān hái dé shàng bān ne.
Peter: Would love to, but I got to work tomorrow.
小李：那好，有空请再来。(那好，有空請再來。)
Xiǎo lǐ: Nà hǎo, yǒu kòng qǐng zài lái.
Lee: alright, please come again.
彼得：请留步，不用送了。（請留步，不用送了）
Bǐdé: Qǐng liú bù, bù yòng sòngl e.
Peter: I will see myself out.
小李：好，再见。路上小心。（好，再見。路上小心）
xiǎo lǐ: Hǎo, zài jiàn. Lù shàng xiǎo xīn.
Lee: Ok, bye. Be careful on your way home.
Scenario 2 – Peter is chatting with Lee on the way to the internet cafe
彼得：我先到网吧给朋友发个邮件。回头见。(我先到網吧給朋友發個郵件。回頭見。)
Bǐdé: Wǒ xiān dào wǎng bā gěi péng yǒu fā gè yóu jiàn. Huí tóu jiàn.
Peter: I will go to the Internet cafe to send an email to my friend. See you later.
小李：回头见。(回頭見)
Xiǎo lǐ: Huí tóu jiàn.
Xiao Li: See you later.
Scenario 3 – Peter bids goodbye to his friend Lee after a long day at work
彼得: 很晚了，我们回家吧。（很晚了，我們回家吧。）
Bǐdé: Hěn wǎn le, wǒ men huí jiā ba.
Peter: It’s late, let’s go home.
小李：我还有报告没写呢。你先回去吧。（我還有報告沒寫呢。你先會去吧。）
Xiǎo lǐ: Wǒ hái yǒu bào gào méi xiě ne. Nǐ xiān huì qù ba.
Lee: I still have a report to write. Please go home first.
彼得: 那么我就在这儿跟你说再见了。明天见。（那麼我就在這兒跟你說再見了。明天見。）
Bǐdé: Nà me wǒ jiù zài zhè’er gēn nǐ shuō zài jiàn le. Míng tiān jiàn.
Peter: Then, I must say goodbye to you here. See you tomorrow.
小李：明天见。回家好好休息。（明天見。回家好好休息。）
Xiǎo lǐ: Míng tiān jiàn. Huí jiā hǎo hǎo xiū xí.
Lee: See you tomorrow. Have a good rest.
Scenario 4 – Peter is going home after 4 years working in China. He bids farewell to his Chinese language teacher Mr. Chai.
小蔡：好久不见，今天怎么有空来了？
Xiǎo cài: Hǎo jiǔ bù jiàn, jīn tiān zěn me yǒu kòng lái le?
Mr. Chai: Long time no see. What brings you here today?
彼得：我来向你道别。
Bǐdé: Wǒ lái xiàng nǐ dào bié.
Peter: I have come to bid farewell.
小蔡：你要去哪儿？
Xiǎo cài: Nǐ yào qù nǎ’er?
Mr. Chai: Where are you going?
彼得：我要回国了。
Bǐdé: Wǒ yào huí guó le.
Peter: I am going back to America.
小蔡：日子过得真是快。你来这儿都已经4年了。
Xiǎo cài: Rì zi guò dé zhēn shi kuài. Nǐ lái zhè’er dōu yǐ jīng 4 nián le.
Mr. Chai: Time really flies. You have been here for 4 years.
彼得：多亏了你我才能在这呆四年。
Bǐdé: Duō kuī le nǐ wǒ cái néng zài zhè dāi sì nián.
Peter: Thanks to you I am able to stay here for 4 years.
小蔡：别这么说。哪天走？我去送你。
Xiǎo cài: Bié zhè me shuō. Nǎ tiān zǒu? Wǒ qù sòng nǐ.
Mr. Chai: Don’t say that. When are you leaving? I will see you off.
彼得：你那么忙，不用送了。
Bǐdé: Nǐ nà me máng, bù yòng sòng le.
Peter: Please don’t, you are too busy.
小蔡：那么就祝你一路顺风。保持联系。
Xiǎo cài: Nà me jiù zhù nǐ yīlù shùn fēng. Bǎo chí lián xì.
Mr. Chai: Well then, I wish you a safe trip home. Keep in touch.
彼得：我会的。请保重。
Bǐdé: Wǒ huì de. Qǐng bǎo zhòng.
Peter: I will. Take care.
Traditional Mandarin Chinese
小蔡：好久不見，今天怎麼有空來了？
彼得：我來向你道別。
小蔡：你要去哪兒？
彼得：我要回國了。
小蔡：日子過得真是快。你來這兒都已經4年了。
彼得：多虧了你我才能在這呆四年。
小蔡：別這麼說。哪天走？我去送你。
彼得：你那麼忙，不用送了。
小蔡：那麼就祝你一路順風。保持聯繫。
彼得：我會的。請保重。
Related phrases for saying goodbye in Chinese
我得走了 Wǒ dé zǒu le I got to go
我要告辞了 Wǒ yào gào cí le I am leaving
改日见 Gǎi rì jiàn see you later
请走好 qǐng zǒu hǎo take care
一路平安 yī lù píng’ān stay safe
周末愉快 zhōu mò yú kuài have a good weekend
下星期见 xià xīng qí jiàn see you next week
请下次再来 qǐng xià cì zài lái Please come again
恐怕我得走了 Kǒng pà wǒ dé zǒu le I’m afraid I need to go
下次再会 xià cì zài huì see you again
希望能很快再见到你 xī wàng néng hěn kuài zài jiàn dào nǐ hope to see you again
Traditional Mandarin Chinese for goodbye
我得走了。
我要告辭了。
改日見
請走好
一路平安
週末愉快
下星期見
請下次再來
恐怕我得走了
下次再會
希望能很快再見到你
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Cultural tips for Chinese learning
China is a country of ceremony and courtesy. They treat their guests with care and attention. When the guests are leaving, the host will surely see the guests off at the gate. Hence, the Mandarin Chinese phrase, 请留步，请回吧，别送了，请走好. The first three Mandarin Chinese phrases are said by the guests, and the last one is by the host. 请留步，请回吧 are more formal than 别送了 and 回去吧.
The next time you want to say goodbye in Mandarin to a Chinese friend, why not say those Mandarin Chinese phrases you have just learned. 再见 zài jiàn is just too boring and simple.